Why Home Improvement Store Credit Cards Can Be A Good Idea
If you're looking at making home renovations or considering a large-scale home improvement project, you know how expensive it can be. The costs for construction supplies, hiring a qualified contractor and paying the various fees for permits can quickly add up.
You could borrow money from a bank to help pay for all the work, but banks always expect you to pay back not only the loan, but also the interest. A $10,000 bathroom remodel may actually end up costing you $20,000 by the time you've paid back all the interest. Instead of going for a bank loan, why not look into some of those credit cards offered by the larger hardware store chains? As long as you have decent credit and a plan to pay them back, it's usually an option worth considering. Those credit cards have several distinct advantages:
No Percent Credit Card Offers: Many of those hardware stores offer you a period of time in which you can pay off your loan with zero interest. Those savings could add up to big money if you are able to pay back part of the amount you borrowed on the credit card. Using these cards is actually a like getting home improvement financing for your project with no equity.
Big Store Discounts: Home improvement store credit cards often give you sale prices on items you buy or services you contract through the store. You might save 3% - 15% on the total cost of the project, which could be a pretty good chunk of cash by the time you've added it all up.
Home Improvement Convenience: These large hardware stores now offer just about everything you could need to improve your home and most offer lots of contractor services to actually do the work for you. They're no longer just for the do-it-yourself handyman and handywoman. Now they are large outlets designed to offer everything you could possibly need for your house projects. With one store credit card you can purchase the materials you need as well as hire someone to do all the work for you!
Banks loan you money in hopes that they'll make profit with the interest and fees you pay back. Big hardware stores don't have to make money on interest because they'll be making their profit on the products and services you buy. Because of that they can usually offer lower interest rates and even better pricing. When you use a home improvement store credit card you're locked into using a specific store, but if that store has everything you need then it's definitely worth considering!
Tagged with: credit cards • credit rating • equity • finances • home • home depot • home improvement • home improvement credit card • home improvement financing • home improvement loan • house • loans • lowe's • money • Remodeling
Filed under: Remodeling
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